A few good pickers I used to jam live with have come up with a young hot rod guitar player and they want to give it a go and I am onboard as the bass player/singer. I really do not want to leave my GK, Ampeg, Sunn and/or Fender rigs at the practice place and these stacks are too big to haul around each time we get together.

Please, what are some recommendations for powerful, good sounding yet portable bass amps? Price is always a consideration, but not necessarily the driving factor.

The G-K Micro Bass series such as the MB150E is a very popular small session amp and is just about the industry standard among Double Bass players (acoustic bass). if you want a bit more volume in a small combo then there is the SWR RED HEAD with quite a bit more punch . I have three of the small G-K's. I like both the SWR RED HEAD and the little G-K's for small applications.

The Carvin head is available in combos as well. I just think it's hard to beat a 500w @ 4 ohm combo with 2x10 that weighs around 50 lbs for about $620, and "made" in the USA. Of course, price is my determining factor these days.

All of the others that are mentioned are great per the many reviews about them. I'm an AccuGroove fan and owner myself, Tri112, and would like to try the Genz Benz and Markbass offerings.

I've played through a Markbass combo. They do sound good and are very powerful. I can't speak for how durable they are. They aren't cheap either. I've never used a CArvin amp but have heard good things from people who have. The price is right.

Check out A.E.R.Amp One,I,ve had one on trial for 3 weeks, 13 kilos, great EQ just got back from a 4 day jazz festival where I played 10 x 1 hour sets with 4 bands in 8 venues with my S2 really good,got heaps of good comments about it from other musos,so I bought it from the Bass People in Sydney OZ (Dave Burgess)

I think it depends on the guys around you,two of the bands are 7 piece,4 rythym 3 front line trad jazz plenty of freedom in the music to move around and we only work festivals,do about 7 a year all over OZ

I'll second the Markbass. I've used a LMII head for 4 years and have had no problems. Also like the 2x10 combo and the Jeff Berlin model. Both are 300 watts @ 8 ohms and outputs for an additional 8 ohm cabinet..bumping it up to 500 watts. But like Olie said, not the cheapest on the market.

I have an Eden Metro and the thing has punch to spare. It's not cheap, or light, but it sounds great. If needed, and I know you have larger rigs, you can drop a 410 under the metro and cover just about any gig. You could then unload some larger stuff to free up some funds. Good luck. Let us know what you come up with.

Thanks guys for all of the tips. I am still shopping and looking and as we all know that is a good deal of the fun.

Has anyone had any experience with an Ashdown? This one would be a Mag 300 with a 15 speaker. Supposed to be 308 watts at 4 ohms at about 65 pounds. (This one is nearby driving distance at a good price it seems.)